Ox&Cat
by bubblegum-flavored icecream
Summary: Kyo is sick and alone at Shigure's house. Haru comes to take care of him. Read to find out what happens... review pleez!
1. The Beginning

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay, Kyo?" Torhu asked anxiously. "If you want, I can stay over to look after y----"

"Nah, it's fine Torhu. I'll be okay don't worry."

She can get so worried for nothing sometimes. And the thing is, it's never about

herself, always about other people. That's a special, unique Torhu thing. She's the kindest person I have ever met in my life. I think no one really understands me, but she's the one who made it the closest without me pushing her away. I never had a sister; only dumb, annoying cousins. But I love her as a little sister.

I had started to feel a bit wrong and strange at the beginning of the week. In one day, I had managed to get a high fever, a runny nose and an itchy throat. Torhu had almost gotten sick herself, stressing about, getting me my medicine, cooking me chicken broth, fluffing my pillow while still trying to get all the housework done.

Then Torhu's aunt, cousin or I-don't-know-what, a member of her family anyway called to say her grandfather had had an accident while he was on vacation at the Bahamas. Torhu bought a plane ticket the very moment she heard that. Of course, her dear boyfriend Yuki just had to accompany her. Shigure was having a blast at Ayame's newly bought beach house and he wouldn't be home until next month.

But of course, dear Torhu just couldn't bear to leave me alone in an empty house when I was sick, considering that she wasn't just leaving for a run to the supermarket. So guess who she called to take care of me during her absence?

H

A

R

U

I was seriously screwed. If I was Torhu, I wouldn't worry if Haru wasn't there to take care of me; I'd be worried if he was there!

Haru was supposed to come today, so I figured I had at least two and a half days ahead of me. Two days of perfect rest for me while that dumb cow would try to find his way to Shigure's house.

I closed my eyes, getting ready for a nap. There was nervous chattering and I opened my eyes again for one brief moment. I saw Yuki take a worried-looking Torhu by the arm and muttering something that sounded like "let's go Torhu, that stupid cat will be just fine" then they were gone. The door closed silently behind them.

For the second time, I closed my eyes. It felt good, comfortable. The warm blanket covering my whole body, the fluffy orange pillow under my head, the pack of ice on my forehead, the glass of cold milk by my side... Peace and quiet at la----

Knock knock.

Who the hell could that be? Maybe it was Yuki and Torhu coming back because they forgot something. I groaned and got up, regretfully getting rid of the warm blanket.

Knock knock knock knock.

"I'm coming!" I grumbled under my breath. "Jeez..."

"Hey, Kyo", a calm, bored voice said back to me as I opened the door.

It wasn't Yuki or Torhu.


	2. Hum Hummm

« HARU! » I yelled at his bored-looking face. "Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing here?!"

"I thought Torhu had told you she called me", Haru said as he entered peacefully. "Y'know, to come baby-sit you."

Usually, I would've gotten mad at that. REALLY mad. I would've thrown my fist in his face, knocked his Black side in and things would've gotten messy. But today, I was sick, tired and I just wanted a good nap. I had no time or energy to pick a fight.

I looked at him with glassy eyes.

"I'm gonna sleep right now. Three rules only: don't touch anything, don't eat or drink anything, and shut up."

Haru nodded with great patience and took a step closer as I lay down under his blanket (if you didn't get it yet, Kyo's lying on the sofa in the living room). He began to rearrange the blanket, sliding it closer to my body. I felt warmth that had nothing to do with the comfort of the makeshift bed. My face grew a deep scarlet shade.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing?" I mumbled weakly as Haru got even closer.

"Just tucking you in", the cow replied as his slender, pale fingers caressed my cheek lightly.

Just for one brief second, we stared into each others' eyes, gray into scarlet. This is gonna sound really pathetic, but I think I saw something... strange in his eyes. Like... the way he was looking at me, perhaps. So peaceful, caring...almost tender.

It only lasted a second. Then he went to sit on the chair. I felt something in my throat, a big lump of feelings, some kind of frustration mixed with curiosity and longing. Was I disappointed that Haru and I hadn't stared at each other longer? What the hell was wrong with me?

No. It was probably due to the tiredness. All I needed was my nap. I curled up in a ball under the blanket, put a hand under the pillow and the other in front of my face. The living room was getting all foggy and strange and wobbly and before I knew it I was asleep.

When I woke up, there was something warmer than the blanket wrapped around my body. As my eyes opened, all I could see was thick foggy blobs, but I did see that the something warmer had hair. Instinctively, I raised a hand and stroked it. It was unbelievably soft and fluffy, like a stuffed animal's fur. I got closer to the something warmer and breathed deeply. Mmm... It smelled wonderful.

But wait.... The something warmer was....breathing? I blinked a few times before I could make out a clear shape. A head... a body.... Whoa, a HAWT body, needless to say.... A familiar face... Calm, peaceful features....Looking bored, even at sleep... White and black hair....

HARU?!

Yes, Haru Soma was sleeping, HUGGING me. His arms were flung tightly over my shoulders, his legs wrapped around mine. His warmth was much better than the blanket, I had to admit. I couldn't help but move closer to him and bury my face in his chest. Mmm...

WAIT, WHAT?! This was Ha-ha-haru! Only one thing to do now:

"DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I shouted in his ears.

"Mmm?" he answered, rubbing his eyes like a little kid.

I have to admit, he did look adorable. Oops. I was sure my face was as red as it felt.

"You're sleeping with your fucking arms around me, you perv!" I yelled and got off the bed.

"Oh, that", he said. "Yeah. See, last night after you went to sleep, I had to go to the bathroom. I managed to find it myself, but then I couldn't remember how to go back to the living room. I searched for hours and then when I finally found it I was so exhausted I just fell asleep there. Sorry."

I rolled my eyes.

"You are hopeless", I said.

I ran a hand through my hair. There were knots everywhere, not that I cared. Only my fingers longed for that other soft, silky, black and white hair I had just stroked. I blushed even more. That's when I realized that Haru was staring at me. Staring at my hair, more precisely.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing", he replied, shrugging his head and getting off the bed too.

And that's the end for chapter 2.

What do you think? Read and review please!


	3. A complication

I tried to get any ideas of Haru out of my mind and headed towards the kitchen to get a new glass of milk. My vision was still kinda blurry, and my head hurt like hell. I guess my ears must've been affected by the fever too, because I didn't even hear steps behind me as I took the milk carton out of the refrigerator. When I turned around, Haru was there. I yelped and dropped my drink. Bits of glass shattered on the floor. I blushed again.

"Screw you, Haru", I grumbled, glaring at him as I picked the bigger pieces of glass. "Why the heck did you follow me here? Now look what you made me do!"

"It's not my fault if you're a scaredy cat, Kyo", he said shamelessly, taking a step closer.

I also stepped closer.

"You take that back", I said in what I hoped was a menacing voice.

"Uh-huh", Haru said absent-mindedly.

I was getting angry. As angry as if I was perfectly healthy. Hey, maybe I was getting better.

I stepped closer again.

"You take that ba-----OW!"

A sharp piece of glass had penetrated my bare foot. Blood flooded out. It burned. Cursing loudly, I held my poor foot in my hands.

"Son of a bitch", I muttered weakly.

"That wasn't very smart, Kyo", Haru replied calmly. "You should've been more careful."

"Don't you think I know that, you stupid cow?" I shouted at his face.

He blinked a lot, then rubbed his eyes lazily.

"Dude, chill out already. No need to spit into my eyes."

"I DID NOT SPIT INTO YOUR STUPID PRECIOUS EYES!" I shouted again.

He blinked a lot, then rubbed his eyes again.

"There you go", he said smiling. "You just did it again."

By now, I was so angry I was spluttering. I really REALLY did want to spit at his face, but he would laugh at me, that dumb Haru. Besides, my foot was beginning to really hurt.

"Ow", I said, biting my lower lip.

I realized I had my arm around Haru's shoulders. When did that happen? I didn't care, actually. All I wanted was a band-aid and a blanket. And milk.

Haru got even closer. I could feel his breath on my cheek. He smelled nice. It wasn't soap or perfume, no, it was something natural. I unknowingly breathed in, then slapped myself inside my head for it. That cow didn't even notice. He pulled away to go get a band-aid and some antiseptic. He came back and sat me down in a chair at the dining carefully, he spilled some antiseptic on my wound. It stung and burned. I yelped with pain.

"It's okay, Kyo", he said in an incredibly soft voice. He put an arm around my shoulders again, his free hand carefully applying the antiseptic, rubbing it into my wounded flesh. Suddenly I knew I didn't care if the substance stung my foot or not, as long as Haru's fingers kept rubbing my skin like that. His eyes were focused on the wound, which gave me a good chance to gaze at his face. It was very calm and solemn, as usual, but there seemed to be a trace of worry in his gray eyes....

No, it was probably just me. No way would Haru worry about me. The only people he really worried about were Yuki and Rin. Especially Yuki. He would never worry about me in that way, not in a million years. My eyes were probably playing tricks on me again. My sickness was causing me to hallucinate.

Haru finished applying the antiseptic and put the band-aid on my foot.

"There you go: all better".

"Y'know it was your fault in the first place", I hissed angrily at him.

"How was it my fault?" he asked peacefully. "Enlighten me, Kyo."

I suddenly realized he was much closer than before now. The tip of his nose was almost touching mine... There was not a centimeter of distance between our lips....

What?! Was I calculating the distance between our LIPS? Mine and Haru's? Was I crazy or something?

As Haru leaned even closer, I could see every single detail of his face. Even his beautiful, long eyelashes... It became even hard to think when he slowly closed his eyes and put a hand on my cheek again. His fingertips felt like ice on my burning skin. I felt as if my whole body was on fire. Instinctively, I closed my eyes too. I felt him get closer and closer and closer....

"Enlighten me", he said in a voice so soft I barely heard him.

Suddenly, his lips brushed mine.

Very soft, very briefly.

The kiss lasted a second, but it felt like so much more.

His mouth tasted sweet.

And then, as suddenly as they had come, Haru's lips pulled away.

I looked at the cow, dumbfounded. What was that about? My head was spinning, but for once it wasn't because of the fever. Or maybe it was, actually. I really felt like I needed to lie down for a minute.

Haru wasn't looking at me. He ran a hand in his hair, then cursed and turned away.

"Uh, I gotta go to the bathroom", he said, refusing to meet my eyes. "Be right back."

And he left me there. I found that I wasn't angry nor disgusted. I just had an unsatisfied feeling in my throat. My lips were still tingling from where his mouth had brushed them.


End file.
